WELLINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's Greymouth Gas Turangi was granted an onshore petroleum exploration permit on Tuesday through the Block Offer 2020 competitive tender process.
Greymouth Gas Turangi, owned by Greymouth Petroleum Mining Group Limited, has been granted a permit for a 61.9 sq-km area northwest of Stratford in Taranaki for a period of 10 years, with a commencement date of April 1, said a statement of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
The permit allows the holder to search for Crown-owned reserves of oil and gas in the area set down, the government statement said.
The Greymouth group of companies has been operating in New Zealand since 2000, and currently operates five petroleum mining permits in Taranaki, it said.
A number of bids were submitted for Block Offer 2020 and all underwent a robust evaluation by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, which is part of the MBIE, it added. ■